


Slipped Through Into The Afterlife

by ewatsonia



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: AU - Grim Reaper!Ian, Gen, Heavy themes of death/the afterlife, Hurt/Comfort, Past Violence, don't ask too many questions I don't have answers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-29
Updated: 2019-09-29
Packaged: 2020-11-01 15:29:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20817452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ewatsonia/pseuds/ewatsonia
Summary: Hana has a brush with death. It's a more pleasant experience than she expected.





	Slipped Through Into The Afterlife

**Author's Note:**

> This was based on a prompt I got for a writing challenge but I ended up veering so much from it I'm not even gonna post it. This AU is weird but it was fun.

Schools were creepy at night.

They were particularly creepy, Hana decided, when you didn’t remember exactly why you were there after hours. She woke up on the floor of an empty classroom to discover it was well past nightfall. She didn’t know why, but she did know one thing. She was supposed to have gotten home hours and hours ago and her dad would be worried _ sick_. 

Hana got up and rubbed her eyes. Even in the dark she recognized this as her homeroom, and she was pretty sure she’d been helping clean up but the rest was a blur. Hana had no recollection of falling asleep or passing out in here. That wasn’t good...

As she closed the distance between her and the door, there was a knock. She froze. 

Who on earth would be here this late, aside from her? The students cleaned the school in lieu of janitors, and surely whoever was in charge of locking up would’ve gone home by now too.

They knocked again.

Should she open it? Surely the worst that would happen was some faculty member would be upset at her for being here after hours.

But why were they knocking? Wouldn’t a teacher have keys?

Unfortunately, she had to leave through that door, and it was far too late for her to wait until they just went away. Taking a deep breath, Hana reached forward, undid the lock and swung the door open.

Yelping, she skittered back at the sight she beheld. A tall man in dark black robes that covered his face, and a very real looking scythe at his side. The metal that glinted off the blade was too real to be part of a costume, otherwise Hana would’ve thought this was some sick joke her ex friends were playing on her.

He pulled _ a tablet _of all things from his robes and spent a moment scrolling through it. “Hana Mizuno?” 

Hana, feeling very scared and very small, nodded meekly. 

Death(..because that’s what this was, wasn’t it? Death, the Grim Reaper) gave her a once over, and Hana noted that though he was notably skinny even under all those robes, he wasn’t skeletal. She wasn’t sure if that actually made her feel better about this. It was just something she noticed, and what else was there to do but _ look _right now.. 

“You’re early.” Death said, wandering into the room, Hana automatically moving out of his way. His voice was serious and monotone, intimidating. He propped the scythe up against the wall of the classroom, and scrolled through his tablet some more. 

Gulping, Hana finally said something. “Early?” 

“Mhm. You dying at sixteen definitely isn’t on the schedule. I’ve triple checked.” he replied, finally putting the tablet away and look her in the eyes. His were grey rather than bottomless black voids like Hana half expected. “Which, oddly enough is actually a good thing for you. It means you don’t _ have _ to come with me if you don’t want to.”

“I’m d-_dead _ ?” Hana spluttered. A part of her was like, well no shit you are, _ genius _, what did you think? That Death was just coming by for a visit? 

Instead of saying anything, Death nodded and pointed behind her. 

Slowly, Hana craned her neck. She knew she shouldn’t,. She knew what she was going to see, and that she wouldn’t like it,but she couldn’t help the morbid curiosity. 

There she was, or rather there her body was. Sprawled out on the floor of the classroom, limbs rigid and unmoving. A heavy textbook laid not far from her. 

Oh. _ Oh. _

_ Images flashed through her mind. Her throwing the book at her ex friends. Threats from them, her refusing to yield to the threats and them so, so angry that she was standing up for herself, letting herself have a backbone. They screeched insults, horrible ones that dug deep but even through the tears Hana wouldn’t back down. _

_ One of them picked up the book she’d tossed closed in on her, and smacked her across the head. Hana sprawled to the ground and yelped so loudly in pain that someone should’ve heard her. But if they did, they didn’t care. _

_ They all cackled, the one who’d hit her the loudest. As Hana lay prone on the ground, a hand fruitlessly covering her face, they came closer. The book was dropped beside her with a heavy thud. _

_ They opted to instead attack by stomping and kicking anywhere they could reach. _

_ Whimpering, Hana heard the sound of cracking, something in her chest breaking. Pain overwhelmed her and she felt consciousness slipping from her grasp, her mind shutting down and sparing her from the intense pain. _

_ They were still laughing. Still hurting her. Long past the point where she finally blacked out completely. _

A cold hand rested on Hana’s back. Death’s touch was cold, though oddly comforting and it guided her away from the sight of her own body, probably for the best.

“Why?” She asked, looking up at him. 

Beneath the black hood that covered his face, Death frowned. Even with most of his face in shadow, she could see it was pained. “Humans have a near infinite capacity for cruelty. There’s no rhyme or reason to why this happened to you.” 

“Is there...Is there ever for, um. People dying?” 

Death shrugged. “That’s above my paygrade. I don’t know _ why _people die. I just know the when, and guide them to the afterlife if that’s what they want. You’re one of the special cases, I was nearby and thankfully have a bit of a gap in my schedule.” 

“What would’ve…” Hana shook her head. She was probably asking too many questions, and she wasn’t sure if she actually wanted to know the answer to them.

“If you have questions, you’re welcome to ask them. If you choose to go back you won’t remember any of this, and if you come with me then well, it's for the best that you made an informed decision.” Death had evidently picked up on her hesitation. “Also, if I hadn’t been around, I’d wager you’d have been _ very _ confused and probably walked through a few doors or walls.” 

Hana shivered. She was _ already _scared and confused and a fuckton of other emotions right now, she didn’t like the idea of her going through that without someone to talk her through it. Just a ghost wandering through the empty, dark halls of the school she’d been murdered in. 

_ Jesus Christ_, she’d been murdered. That was kind of starting to sink in. Beate, by people who’d once been friends she trusted with everything. Left to rot in a classroom until the poor soul that was her homeroom teacher came in to start prepping for the day and discovered her body. 

Oh _ god _it was the weekend too…

Hana cleared her throat. Though, more for effect than anything. There was no relief carried with it, it was just a noise she made to break the awkward silence that was hanging after Death’s answer to her question. 

“Is...do I have a time limit for this? Making up my mind?” she mumbled, wringing her hands together. Even in death, _ facing _ Death, she worried about being inconvenient, about taking too long. “Do I have...until morning or…”

“All the time you need.” Death reassured her. “Time froze the moment you opened the door for me.” 

Hana opened her mouth to respond, but a completely different question came out of it instead. “...Why _ did _you knock? It’s not like I live here.”

That elicited a chuckle from him, and it further weirded Hana out because it was just so _ strange _ how _ human _ Death was. No otherworldly echo, nothing menacing. Just a genuinely amused laugh that could’ve come from anyway. “It’s a rule. Not everyone I work with does it but I like to _ try _ to be polite and not just burst in on people who probably haven’t realized they’re dead yet looking like _ this_.” 

Okay, so this wasn’t Death, _singular_. There was more than one. There were also rules, schedules, and the earlier implication that he had a _ boss _ of some kind. It sounded like the afterlife was a _ business, _ and grim reaper was a _ job _, not an entity unto itself. The lives and souls of mortals were like inventory to be kept track of. At least he was treating Hana nicer than a shipment of supplies or whatever.

“You need to sit down? I know this is a lot to take in and think about.” Death pulled out a chair from one of the desks and offered it to her. 

Slipping down, Hana half expected herself to faze through it but it felt solid as she seated herself. She figured she probably should start deciding if she wanted to carry on with her life or just say fuck it and let it be over. The latter was tempting, she had to admit. 

Another chair was pulled out and placed next to her. When Hana inevitably looked over, Death had taken off his hood. Sheexpected to see _ something _ that gave away that he was more than some random guy. Yet that’s all that she could see. His hair was brown, an undercut with the sides grown out a bit, and he hardly looked older than Hana was. The most remarkable thing about him was his height.

“You know, I don’t know where the whole idea of reapers being skeletons came from.” he said, noting that Hana was staring at him. “The stories humans repeat get a lot of things right, the uniform, the scythe, but I have no fucking clue who decided we were talking skeletons. We’re supposed to guide people to the afterlife, not scare the shit out of them.”

It was quiet, a little forced, but Hana laughed. “And the scythe and ominous black robes _ aren’t _scary?”

He paused, and putting his finger on his chin. “Maybe a little.” he admitted. 

“...So. You said I could ask anything right?” a burning question was stewing up in Hana’s mind, one that she definitely _ needed _ answered if she was going to make this decision.

“Anything. Can’t one hundred percent _ guarantee _I’ll have the answer you’re looking for, I know a lot, but I’m not omniscient or anything.” 

If she’d still had a body, her heart would’ve been pounding. “Will I get to see my mom again?”

A mix of emotions passed over Death’s face, the strongest ones looking to be sympathy and understanding. He probably got asked questions along these lines a lot. “As long as you’re headed to the same afterlife as her, yes.” 

“...Same afterlife?” her voice was meek. 

“Heaven or Hell. Elysium or the Fields of Punishment. The Good Place or the Bad Place.” Whatever you want to call it.” He clarified. There was a light smile on his face after he said this. “If you do choose to move on, I’m taking you to the good one, for the record.”

Hana rose an eyebrow. “How do I know you don’t say that to everyone to just get them to come with you?”

He snorted, and perched his chin on his hand. “I wouldn’t be sitting around and talking you through this if you were going to Hell, kiddo. I’m not nice to bad people” 

Something about that hit Hana in a way she didn’t like. She cast her gaze once again over to where her body lay and frowned. Did she deserve that, really? 

Death followed her eyes. “Bad things happen to good people.” 

“Good things happen to bad people.” Hana countered quietly, turning back to him. She didn’t know why she was arguing this, nobody in the right mind would argue when it was the difference between eternal paradise and eternal damnation. 

Hana never claimed that she was though.

Death studied her, the frown on his face deepening. Heh, maybe he was reconsidering things. She didn’t know if he was actually in charge of that or taking orders, but maybe second opinions were allowed. Observing someone and meeting them were different things.

“Hana.” Death’s chilly hands gently turned her to make direct eye contact. “You are not a bad person. These decisions aren’t made lightly. If they say you belong in heaven, that’s where you belong. If _ anyone _in this situation is going to hell, it’s the girls who did this to you. They’re not big fans of murderers up there.” 

Self destructive thoughts whispered in the back of Hana’s head that if she didn’t take this chance, maybe she’d fuck it all up in the end. Maybe her scheduled point of death was after she did something truly heinous. That this, right now, taking this offer would be cheating Hell out of someone they had their eyes on. Would that be right?

“I don’t know what to do.” Hana admitted in a soft voice, putting her head in her hands. “I really don’t know what to do.”

Death put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. “You’re only sixteen and you’ve already had a hard life. It’s understandable. I really would’ve been shocked if you’d decided quickly. This is why time kind of just stops for us during this whole thing.”

Something in her broke, and Hana felt the tears slipping out into her hands. He was right about her life, and it was starting to sink in. everything that’d happen. As much as she didn’t feel deserve this, this _ did _give her an opportunity to run away from it all. From the bullying day in and out, from feeling like a drain on her father with how little money they had.

Oh _ god _her dad…

Her dying would crush him. He’d already been depressed since her mom died. What would losing her too do to him? There were conflicting thoughts in her head though-better in the long run, no extra mouth to feed with the already minimal money he got from the shop. Maybe even that would turn around, he’d have more time to work, less distractions…

But he’d miss her, he’d miss her terribly wouldn’t he?

Would he?

The tears kept flowing. One person might miss her, that wasn’t a lot, in the grand scheme of things. She had no friends to grieve her, she doubted she’d be missing out on making any more…

How would her mom feel though, should they meet again? Her leaving her dad all alone? Would she think it was selfish. Maybe she’d resent Hana, and she’d get shunned even in eternal paradise. That’d be just her luck. 

Neither option was appealing to Hana much right now. Half joking, she glanced up and asked Death another question. “There isn’t a third option is there?”

Avoiding eye contact, Death bit his lip and pinched the bridge of his nose. He sighed and closed his eyes before finally answering her. “Technically yes. But I’d _ strongly _ discourage it. I’m not technically obligated to bring it up, and there’s a reason I didn’t.”

Hana sniffled, and wiped the tears off onto her sleeve in an attempt to look more serious and less desperate. “Tell me.”

“You’re a ghost right now.” he replied, brows furrowed and decisively unhappy about having to explain this. “That’s why I joked about you going through walls and doors. Technically you _ could _ refuse to go with me _ and _ refuse to come back to life.” 

Hm. “Why didn’t you tell me? I don’t see what’s so bad about that.” It actually appealed to Hana in a strange way. Watching the world go on, “living” her own life in a way, but not having to worry about anything.

Death narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “It’s a miserable existence and I’ve yet to see a single soul who didn’t go mad from the regret. You’re stuck in the place where you died, with constant reminders of your death. You'll see your killers every day, potentially walking free and never paying for what they did to you. Their life going on, but you trapped here. Forever. And don’t say you’re different. You aren’t. A few years, maybe more, maybe less and it’ll start to get to you.” 

Hana wanted to interject, but she couldn’t find the words and god the room was getting colder now.

He kept going. “Eventually there’ll just be a general resentment for the living. You’ll act on it, the angrier you get the stronger you’ll get. Until, eventually, you’re a shell of your former self. Just a spirit of pure rage, rattling on the bars of your eternal imprisonment on Earth. It’s not much better than Hell.”

“I...I um…” Hana stuttered, still stuck for a response. 

Death’s casual candor returned, though a spark of anger still flickered behind his eyes. “So, no I don’t recommend it.” 

“Point…point taken.”

“Just trying to keep you from making a mistake kiddo.” he said, “I didn’t want to sugarcoat it.”

He;d succeeded there. It sounded horrific, and Hana quietly crossed it off her list of options...leaving her back where she started. No idea what the hell to do.

Frowning, Hana considered something she hadn’t yet. “Are you allowed to give me your opinion? Because I’m still lost.” 

“There’s pros and cons to both.” Death replied, shrugging. “Your life was difficult, but it can always get better, and there’s people who will miss you and won’t get to see you until _ they _ die. There’s people who could become important to you that you’ll never get to meet. Heaven is ...y'know, Heaven, eternal happiness. But without disclosing anything I’m not supposed to, there’s experiences that you haven’t had yet that only exist on Earth.”

“It sounds like you want me to go back.” she said, the events of earlier that day repeating in her head. Who’s to say that wouldn’t happen again? How many times could she end up in this exact situation?

“I’m saying that if my own life was cut short at sixteen, I’d probably have some regrets.” he looked away for a moment, appearing thoughtful.

“Were you human once? Did you die?” Hana blurted the question as soon as it entered her head. He had to have come from somewhere right? Hana was just curious if somewhere was a formally mortal life, or if he’d spawned into existence, created to do this job.

He raised his eyebrows. “That’s classified.”

“Of course it is.” she muttered. 

He held up his hands defensively, chuckling. “Hey, a job as important as mine, I can’t just go around handing out the secrets. Not exactly relevant to your decision anyway. But uh, for the record, no _ you _can’t just become a reaper, if you’re looking for a fourth option.” 

That hadn’t even occurred to Hana. “I wasn’t. I don’t need more options, I don’t think. My head would just start hurting from the indecision. More than it already is.” 

“All right, Just clearing that up.”

“So you do recommend going back, living my life, or whatever though. Even though it's beyond shitty.” Hana was genuinely curious, why did he seem so sure that she should? “I’d honestly have thought you’d be gunning for the other option.”

Death rested his hand over his mouth, giving the impression he was thinking, considering whether or not to say something. He sighed, and glanced over his shoulder, like someone was watching. His voice lowered. “I’m not _ technically _supposed to tell you this. But, like I said when I first showed up, there’s…a schedule to the universe. A plan. Obviously things can change, things that weren’t foreseen, you’re a prime example. Nobody saw what those girls did to you coming.”

There was some excitement in Hana, at hearing this, knowing she wasn’t supposed to. A slight thrill that trouble could come out of this happening, but without any real _ fear._ Something she hadn’t felt in a long time. 

Death covered his mouth again, but removed it and kept going. “There’s files on people’s lives. On things that are supposed to happen, people they’re supposed to meet. It’s how I knew when you were _ scheduled _to die. It’s something we’re supposed to consider when we make trips like this and talk to people about whether or not they’re going to move on. There’s notes about possible variations, because mortals are absurd and just enough unpredictable that you can’t say anything for certain, but for the most part, it's all planned out.” 

“...You know exactly where my life was supposed to go from here.” Hana realized, keeping her voice hushed, following Death’s example. She didn’t know how much they would help, but it was probably better than shouting. “That’s why you want me to go back.”

The answer came in the form of a nod. From his robes, Death retrieved the tablet again. He angled it so Hana couldn’t look at it, but she guessed that he was looking at her file. 

“Things...get worse before they get better.” he wasn’t just whispering now, his voice was soft in tone as well. “Worse than this even. But Hana, things get _ so much better _ for you.”

The raw emotion in his voice hit Hana right in the heart. She didn’t know where it came from, if he cared about every person he met like this in this way. (Surely it was that though, if anything he was just sympathetic for her because of how rough her life was) It was so different from the casual attitude he’d had thus far, even different than the anger that had manifested.

“I won’t say specifics, I’m already risking a lot just telling you all _ this, _but you being around has an impact on people, and it’s a good one.” he was smiling now. “You dying early changes a lot more than the average person would.” 

Hana was stunned.

A gentle hand was placed on her shoulder once more, and he sent a shiver down Hana’s spine with both the cold touch and his words. “You’re set to do a lot of good kiddo, the world would be poorer without you in it. I don’t want you to feel like I’m pressuring you, but I’m guessing you’ve had doubts about that.” 

That wasn’t wrong. Hana didn’t know if he could see into her head or something, maybe he was just intuitive. It wouldn’t be out of place in his line of work she supposed. 

“If you’re not supposed to tell me this, if you could get in trouble…why?” Hana asked. What was so special about her that he’d risk this? And all that stuff about the world changing without her... 

“Sometimes giving someone that extra push they need is worth bending the rules.” he replied. “Besides, I’m not _ that _ worried about getting in trouble. Even if I do get caught...eh, I didn’t give you any _ details_.” 

Hana took a deep breath, and let the new information sink into her head so she could process it. It was weird to think of herself in that light, as someone who would make a difference if she stuck around. Aside from her hair, she’d never thought of herself as something special. And if anything, that one special bit about her made everything _ worse. _

_The world would be poorer without her._ It was just weird! Who aside from her dad would she be impacting? If it was just him, he’d have just said _someone_ not the _world_. What, would her ex-friends miss their punching bag? 

No, there had to be something else. Future things to come, people she’d _ meet _ in the future, that’s what it sounded like he meant.

Even if he said she had lower places to sink before then...the curiosity _ burned _in her. Curiosity that wouldn’t be resolved if she didn’t go back. If she went with him, went to Heaven then well, she’d just be wondering about that forever. 

...Maybe that’s why he wasn’t supposed to tell her that. It kind of pushed you a certain way when the choice was being blissfully ignorant but eventually pleasantly surprised or being haunted by what could have been forever. That might’ve been the goal though. It sure was convincing.

Hana looked from her body to him, shaking a little.“How much worse does it get?” 

Eyes were averted, and Death pursed his lips. Answer enough on its own.

“...I think I’d like to go back.” the smile on Hana’s face was shaky, but she was sure now. She ran from problems a lot. Maybe it was time to give powering through them a try, and see where that took her. 

She stood up and brushed down her skirt. “So um. What do I do?”

Death got up as well, and crossed the room to grab his scythe. Oh boy. Hana _ really _ wasn’t excited to find out what _ that _was for. 

“It’s a little awkward.” he preemptively admitted. “You need to crouch or lay down near your body then I do the whole...putting your soul back in there bit.”

It was a very awkward thing to do indeed, but Hana walked over. She kept her eyes on anywhere _ but _ the body though, the proximity alone was unsettling. Hana also wasn’t looking forward for the surely inevitable pain when she woke up

“Close your eyes.” he instructed her. He was looming over her with the scythe gripped in both hands now, his hood was back up and once more shadowing his face.

“Before I go....” it was curiosity that Hana would forget she’d ever had, but she just had to _ know. _“Do you have a name? All of you can’t just be called Death right?” 

A laugh, again. “Can’t say I’ve been asked _ that _ before. But, yeah I do. Name’s Ian.” 

“It was nice meeting you Ian, even if I won’t remember.” Hana said, smiling.

“Likewise.” 

Then, at last she closed her eyes. Nervous anticipation filled her, wondering what this was going to feel like. Back to where she was, memories gone in a snap? Or slow and gradual, drifting back to reality like waking up from a dream?

“Bye Hana. Be seeing you.” 

\--

Afternoon sun shone through the empty classroom, and Hana Mizuno picked herself off the floor. 

  
  



End file.
